


The Punk and the Football Player

by hunting_in_wonderland2



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Smut, punk!merlin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:26:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunting_in_wonderland2/pseuds/hunting_in_wonderland2





	1. "Hey Pretty Boy!"

“Arthur!” Gwen called across the football field, waving the tall blonde football player over.

            “Oh, hello Gwen.”

            “Great practice,” she said smiling and swinging her pompoms from her own cheer practice. “Are you doing anything later?” She asked, batting her thick, dark eyelashes.

            “Actually I do have plans, sorry.” Arthur said, trying to get past her to the locker room. She stepped back in front of him, smiling and said,

            “That’s alright, another time.” Arthur nodded half-heartedly, distracted by his real interest across the parking lot. Merlin, whom the muscly football player had never actually had a conversation with, was pulling on his ever-present leather jacket and straddling his shiny black Harley. Arthur couldn’t help but wonder how the dark haired boy could afford such a thing, when Arthur himself could barely afford his food and football equipment. Gwen followed his stare and upon realizing what it was that he was looking at, gave him a knowing smile.

            “I’ll see you later then.” She told him, before heading back over to help her team tidy up from practice. Arthur quickly changed and rinsed the sweat off himself in the school showers before heading out to walk home to hopefully find something to eat before going to work. He stuffed his football gear in his locker, grabbed his math notebook and was walking across the parking lot when an engine revved behind him, not thinking anything of it, he kept his head down and continued walking, however the smooth purr of a loud motor stayed right behind him.

            “Hey!” he turned and found Merlin beside him, propping his bike up with one leg.

            “Need a ride pretty boy?”

            “Excuse me?” Arthur asked, mildly insulted.

            “Come on, I see you walking home every day after practice, it must take at least an hour, hop on.” Merlin said, being surprisingly nice and tossing Arthur a spar helmet. Not really having time to make any other choice, Arthur put on the helmet and threw his leg over Merlin’s bike, gingerly placing his hands on either side of Merlin’s waist so he wouldn’t fall off as the dark haired boy in the leather jacket took off.  After a few minutes of Arthur sitting stiffly, trying his best not to fall off because he was too shy to wrap his arms around Merlin, the guy noticed and shouted over the motor,

            “Don’t be shy, you’ll fall off if you don’t hang on!” and sped up without warning, forcing Arthur into throwing his hands around Merlin’s waist and hanging on tight.

            After directing Merlin to the parking lot of the building his apartment was in, Arthur gave the helmet back and muttered a shy    

            “Thanks,” before turning to go inside.

            “Hang on; you’re not going to invite me in at all? I did give you a ride home, the least you could do is offer me a drink.” Merlin said smugly, giving Arthur a sarcastic smile.

            “I have to get ready for work.” Arthur muttered.

            “Oh, where do you work?” Merlin asked leaning forward, suddenly sincere and interested.

            “The Rocks, I start at six, and I would really like to eat something before I have to go so if you’d excuse me,” Arthur kept trying to get away, not because he didn’t like Merlin – he’d had a crush on him forever – but because he was too nervous around him and was suspicious of why he’d taken an interest in the muscly blonde football player out of the blue like this.

            “Hang on, you have to be twenty one to work in a bar, how… you know what never mind, not my business. Tell you what, its only four now, why don’t  you go drop your backpack off inside and get whatever it is you need for work, and I’ll buy you dinner and drive you there. Sound alright?”

            “Why are you doing this?” Arthur demanded. “Why are you being so nice? We’ve never had a conversation before in our lives.”

            “I don’t really know; call me crazy but I’ve just always had this feeling our paths are destined to join.” Merlin smiled.

            “You sound like an idiot.” Arthur told him. “However, I am running dangerously low on food and dinner would be greatly appreciated.”

            “Great, I’ll wait here.” Arthur rushed upstairs, tossed his backpack in the corner of his tiny apartment, changed into rather form fitting dark blue jeans and a black V-neck, and put on some deodorant before running back out to the parking lot where, almost to his surprise, Merlin was indeed still waiting, he had pulled out a notebook and was perched on his bike scribbling something in it.

            “So, where are you taking me for dinner? McDonalds? Wendy’s?” Arthur asked, expecting some cheap fast food place. Honestly, he would never have even accepted someone buying him dinner if his cupboards and pockets weren’t completely empty.

            “Actually, I was thinking somewhere a little nicer,” Merlin smirked.

            “What do you mean ‘nicer’ those places are just fine.”

            “Nah, I feel like some real food. Come on.” He said, patting the seat behind him. Arthur did so hesitantly and as they were pulling out of the parking lot asked

            “How exactly are you going to pay for ‘something nicer’?” Merlin scoffed.

            “I’m rich; I don’t have to worry about anything like that, besides my uncle owns the place.”

            “That must be nice, never having to worry about money.” Arthur muttered. If Merlin heard, he didn’t show it or say anything.

*   *   *   *   *

            Merlin led Arthur into an upscale restaurant that he had never even heard of before and nodded at the Maître De.

            “Afternoon Gaius, is it alright if we just go sit down?”

            “Of course Merlin. I’ll let Elena know you’re here.” Merlin thanked the man and hesitantly grabbed Arthurs hand to lead him to a table near the back of the almost empty restaurant. They had just gotten settled when a tall girl with dark hair and glasses approached their table.

            “Hello Merlin, usual for you I presume.” Merlin shot her a surprisingly dorky smile and nodded.

            “And who might I ask is this handsome lad?”

            “Oh, ah, this is Arthur.”

            “Lovely to meet you.” She stated. “What would you like?” Arthur didn’t even know what kind of food they served at places like this. Certainly not burgers and fries; to his relief Merlin spoke up and using a lot of fancy words, ordered him what sounded like steak and a side dish of some sort.     

            They talked for a bit while they waited for their food and Arthur learned that Merlin came from a family with an abundance of money, and was actually a genius who had never missed a class, got straight A’s, and was hoping to get into med school.

            “Enough about me, I’m really not all that interesting, but it seems that no one really knows anything about you, so, start talking.” Merlin demanded. Arthur, slightly taken aback, spluttered out,

            “Are you saying you’ve tried to ask people about me?”

            “Why else would I subject myself to socializing with people I don’t even like?” Merlin retorted. Arthur just stared at the boy for a while and he could have sworn he saw his eyes glow yellow for the slightest second, but he shook that off because he suddenly felt drawn to tell Merlin his entire life story, and Merlin was sitting there, staring at him, waiting, so Arthur started talking.

            “Well, my father, Uther and sister Morgana, they uh died, in a car crash about two years ago. My mom walked out the door a year after that and I haven’t seen her since; that’s about when I started working at The Rocks. Most of the time I have to choose between paying rent and buying food; that’s really the only reason I agreed to letting you buy me dinner, because I have nothing at home. I work as much as I can, so it’s hard to find time to keep my grades up, but I need to because if I don’t I’ll get kicked off the football team and that’s really all I have going for me. And to be quite honest, I have no idea why I’m even telling you any of this.” He finished his story and took a giant gulp of the water Elena had put on the table. Arthur noticed Merlin looking at him pityingly.

            “Don’t look at me like that.” He snapped. “It’s not some sob story, I’m not asking for pity, certainly not from you. I’ve got everything under control.”

            “I’m sorry, it’s just, I never would have thought… I mean, nobody ever thinks the football star could possibly have a shitty life but… I’m sorry.” Merlin spat out, looking flustered for the first time since Arthur had ever seen him. Thankfully, that was when their food came, Elena placed a bowl of some sort of pasta in front of Merlin and a plate in front of Arthur that contained a large juicy steak, buttery mashed potatoes, and broccoli with what appeared to be cheese sauce.

            “So this is what steak is supposed to look like is it?” Arthur muttered as he dug in. Merlin looked up at him, surprised.

            “You mean you’ve never had a decent steak before?”

            “No, I’ve never been able to afford it. Even before everything happened we never had much money, I’m used to it.” Merlin slowly took a bite of his pasta and Arthur dug into his steak and potatoes, which had to be one of the best meals he had ever had. He paused after a few bites and looked at Merlin.

            “Do you know why nobody seems to know anything about me?” Merlin looked up from his pasta expectantly.

            “You’re the first one that cared to ask.”

            “No, I don’t believe that.” Merlin said.

            “It’s true.” Arthur replied before returning his attention to his food. Once they finished, Merlin glanced at his watch.

            “Five thirty. Ready to get going?” Arthur nodded and as they got up, Merlin pulled a black leather wallet out of his pocket and placed a handful of bills on the table before turning to leave. Arthur put a hand on his arm,

            “Thank you Merlin. This is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.” Merlin grinned,

            “Anytime.”

*   *   *   *   *

Merlin pulled his shiny black bike into a parking spot right in front of the entrance to an admittedly cool nightclub that Merlin had even been to a few times, and turned it off. Arthur muttered a quick,

“Thanks,” before turning to go inside. He was almost at the door when Merlin

jumped off the motorcycle and ran to catch up with him.

“You know, I think I feel like a drink. What time are you finished?”

“Uh, not until twelve,” Arthur told him.

“Well then I guess I feel like having a few drinks – soda of course - , and then I

might as well drive you home since I’ll probably still be here.” Arthur looked at the ground, slightly flustered.

“Really, why are you doing this? Why have you suddenly taken an interest in being so nice to me?”

“Well, like I said, I just think we were destined to meet, and I thought, why put it off any longer when I could just talk to you now.”

“Right, well, if you’ll excuse me, I have rent to pay.” Arthur said quickly before

scurrying off to clock in. Merlin perched himself on a stool at the bar and looked around; the club was decently full for a weeknight, a few small groups of people here and there. When he turned back, Arthur was behind the counter.

“Bartender, fix me a coke and whiskey would you?” Merlin demanded with a goofy smirk.

            Arthur shot him a look and said

            “Aren’t you driving later?” Merlin shrugged.

            “Don’t you know how to drive a bike?”

            “Don’t I know – actually yes, I do, my dad used to take me dirt biking when we could afford to put gas in them, unfortunately I had to sell them for groceries last year.” Arthur admitted.

            “Great, then my drink if you would.”

            “You do know I still have to ask for I.D right?” Arthur asked, starting to get annoyed.

            “’Course.” Merlin replied cheerfully, pulling his wallet out to show his I.D to Arthur who looked at it skeptically before shaking his head and turning to mix Merlin his drink.

            As the night went on, the bar kept up a steady pace; not really busy, but not completely dead either. Merlin had perhaps a few too many drinks, and chatted with Arthur through the evening as he mixed and served. The whole time, Merlin hardly took his eyes off Arthur, thinking about how he suddenly seemed so much more attractive now that he knew him, and knew he was a genuinely wonderful person. The place started to gradually empty fairly early as it was a weeknight, and by eleven thirty, Arthur was collecting glasses and wiping down the counter. Merlin stood and tossed a generous tip on the counter,

            “For your outstanding service. I’ll wait outside and let you finish up.” He smiled, stumbling only slightly when he got to the door. Arthur laughed and shook his head, he had actually enjoyed the night much more than he expected to. As he wiped the counter, he picked up the handful of bills Merlin had left and wasn’t exactly surprised when he found fifty dollars, which he stuffed in his pocket and continued wiping, making a mental note to thank Merlin. Once he was finished tidying up and clocked out, he walked outside and found Merlin leaning against his motorcycle.

            “Thank you, for the, uh, tip.” Arthur said gratefully. Merlin nodded and patted the front of the seat,

            “After you.” He said, dangling the keys in front of his face. Arthur took them and straddled the bike, turning the key in the ignition as Merlin climbed on behind him and not only wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist, but also leaned all the way forward and rested his cheek on the back of Arthurs shoulder. He was shocked for a moment but then relaxed and welcomed the feeling of the dark haired boy leaning against him.

            “So, where do you live exactly?” Arthur asked.

            “Oh, I’m not going home tonight, then you’d have to either take my baby or walk home and neither of those are happening. I figured I’d crash at your place.” He said, slurring his words slightly.

            “And you just assumed that would be alright did you?” Arthur demanded.

            “Yep,” was Merlin’s slightly intoxicated reply. Arthur just shook his head, unable to be genuinely frustrated with the boy, and slowly backed out of the parking space before taking off.

            Once they got the Arthur’s apartment building, he had to put his arm around Merlin and help him stumble up the stairs as there was no elevator. He leaned Merlin against the wall while he slid his key into the door and opened it. Once inside Merlin scanned the place and muttered

            “It’s so _tiny._ ”

            “Yea, well, it’s home.” Arthur told him quietly, lifting his shirt over his head and changing into a pair of sweatpants that he picked up off the floor. Merlin continued to look around and realized that there was only one small open main room, with a kitchen on one side, a couch in the middle, and a bathroom off to the other side.

            “Where’s your bedroom?” Merlin asked.

            “Right here.” Arthur replied gesturing around the whole main room.

            “What about a bed?” To answer this, Arthur strode to the middle of the room and pulled out the futon.

            “I know it’s not what you’re used to but it’s the best I can do.” Arthur admitted, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

            “It’s just fine.” Merlin said, smiling and leaning into the shirtless Arthur.

            “Alright, come on, let’s get you to bed. We do still need to go to school in the morning, god, you’re going to have a hangover.” Merlin smiled goofily and flopped down on the pullout bed. Arthur muttered a few choice curses under his breath and found an extra pair of sweatpants to toss at Merlin.

            “Put those on. They might be too big but it’s better than sleeping in your clothes. “Arthur ordered.

            Merlin slid out of his black band t-shirt and black jeans and pulled on Arthurs oversized sweatpants, pulling the drawstring tight so they wouldn’t fall off, and then made himself comfortable under the thick blanket. Arthur went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and came back muttering something about Merlin taking up his bed and where would he sleep, thinking Merlin was passed out, and jumped a little when Merlin spoke up saying,

            “Well aren’t you coming to bed?” and smirking, lifted the covers for Arthur. Surprisingly, he wasn’t even nervous anymore, but actually unusually comfortable around Merlin, as if they had known each other for years rather than a day. The old futon groaned under their weight as Arthur crawled in, and Merlin inched over and snuggled his lanky body up next to the other boy’s muscles. After a few minutes snuggling, Arthur was on the verge of sleep when Merlin suddenly propped himself up on his elbow.

            “Can I tell you a secret?” he whispered, and then giggled. He bloody _giggled._

            “If I listen to your secret will you go to sleep?” Arthur shot back.

            “I’ll think about it. Anyway, my secret is, I started being nice to you today because I’ve had a crush on you for a long time and I was just too nervous to talk to you until now. There I said it that feels much better.” Arthur was taken aback.

            “ _You_ had a crush on _me_? Aren’t you supposed to have an undying hatred for jocks or something?” he teased.

            “Oh no, I don’t mind jocks, it’s arrogant douchebags I can’t stand, and it just so happens that most jocks are utter clotpoles.” He stated very matter of factly.

            “I see, well then, I guess I should probably tell you a secret as well. You had nothing to be nervous about, because I’ve always had a crush on you too.” Arthur admitted, blushing.

Merlin said nothing, but leaned down, bringing his face towards Arthurs until their lips touched and they were kissing, Merlin was sloppy because of the booze, but Arthur didn’t mind; he just couldn’t get over the fact that Merlin was in his bed, wearing his sweatpants, _kissing_ him. He shifted and put his one hand on the back of Merlin’s neck to pull his face as close as possible while the other hand rested on his chest. Merlin swung his leg over so he was straddling Arthur, pawing at him, the two pulling each other as close as they possibly could.

“Just reminding you… we do… have to… school… tomorrow…” Arthur murmured between kisses.

 “Mhm… I know.” Merlin replied; one of his hands was resting on Arthurs cheek, the other was sliding down his chest, towards the waistband of his sweats. Arthur let out a moan as Merlin’s hand went past the top of his pants. It was Arthur who broke the kiss, moving to trace the other boy’s jawline with his lips as Merlin stroked his tip. He kept up a steady rhythm and shimmied Arthurs pants down a bit for better access and Arthur moved on to sucking hickies on Merlin’s neck, making him moan softly. They kept at it like that for a bit until Arthur thought he would go crazy if Merlin didn’t do something more soon.

            “Merlin,” he moaned.

            “Shhhh,” Merlin said, putting a finger to Arthur’s lips. “We wouldn’t want the neighbors to hear anything would we?” Arthur shook his head and grabbed the waistband of Merlin’s borrowed sweatpants, pulling their hips together, causing Merlin to chuckle.

            “Roll over.” He demanded, and Arthur immediately obeyed, thankful when Merlin slid a finger into his hole and started working and stretching it. He smiled when Arthur whimpered into the single pillow that was on the bed, and slipped in another finger, delighted by the moans he could elicit from the tough football player.

            “Merlin, please…” Arthur whimpered, and finally, giving him exactly what he wanted, Merlin slowly slid himself into Arthur, keeping up a controlled rhythm just to make his boy go crazy. He finally lost his control when Arthur got impatient and started to grind back onto him, quickening the rhythm. Grabbing Arthur’s waist, he began thrusting deep and fast, making them both feel _so good_. Merlin could feel himself about to go over the edge, so he reached around and began rubbing Arthur’s hard cock to help him along. It wasn’t long before Arthur was spilling over Merlin’s hand and Merlin filled Arthur. They both collapsed on the creaky futon, exhausted from the exercise, neither said a word, but they wrapped their arms around each other and were fast asleep in mere seconds. 


	2. Meet the Parents

** Chapter Two **

            It was six thirty in the morning when the obnoxiously loud beeping of Arthur’s old alarm clock woke the two boys up. Merlin rolled over and groaned rather loudly, mumbling something about it being too early before beginning to snore once again. Arthur however, was used to late nights and early mornings, and jumped out of bed with no problem. He turned the lights on and cheerfully sang,

“Good morning sunshine! Come on, up you get!” Merlin threw his arms over his face and hissed before chucking the pillow at Arthur.

            “Turn them off Arthur it’s too early.” He whined.

            “Not a chance, now get up,” Arthur demanded.

            “But we’ve got almost two hours until we have to be at school.” Merlin whined again.

            “Well if you want breakfast, we have to go out and get it because there’s nothing here, so come on, and you should probably shower.” Arthur said, walking over to the dresser that was up against one wall to pull some clothes out. Merlin groaned and grumbled and made a fuss, but he did manage to get himself out of bed and into the shower.

            While Merlin was showering, Arthur laid out some boxers and a shirt for the dark haired boy to borrow, figuring he would just have to deal with wearing yesterday’s pants because he was far too scrawny for Arthurs to look anything but ridiculous on him, and then started scribbling down the answers to yesterday’s math questions in his notebook. He heard the tap turn off and Merlin walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around him and Arthur couldn’t help but stare as the boy shamelessly dropped the towel and dressed himself.

            “Alright I’m ready, let’s go.” Merlin said, only slightly more cheerfully. Arthur laughed and stuffed the homework he was working on into his backpack before following Merlin out the door and locking it behind him.

            Merlin drove them to a diner not too far from the school and both boys ordered coffee as soon as they sat down. The waitress came back to their table and set down the two steaming mugs before asking,

            “You boys ready to order yet?” Merlin looked at Arthur, who nodded and said,

            “I think so; I’ll have the protein platter, extra crispy bacon, eggs scrambled please.” The lady jotted it down on her notepad and turned to Merlin,

            “How ‘bout you sugar?”

            “Uh, the hangover hack for me please.” Merlin muttered.

            “Ah, late night last night for you boys was it?” She asked winking, and walked away before either one had time to try to explain. The boys looked at each other sheepishly and burst out in nervous laughter.

            “So what on earth are people going to think when you pull into the parking lot with me on the back of your bike?” Arthur asked teasingly.

            “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn, I would pin you up against the lockers and fuck you right there and people could think what they want, but it doesn’t affect me.” was all Merlin had time to say before their food arrived. They both dug in enthusiastically, starving from their exercise the night before. Merlin muttered something about “this bloody headache” as he ate.

            “I thought you said you didn’t get hangovers.” Arthur said teasingly.

            “Oh, shut it.” Merlin said, shovelling a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth and taking a long sip of his banana smoothie.

            After they finished their respective breakfasts, Merlin started to reach for his wallet to pay when Arthur reached across the table and grabbed his arm.

            “No, you’ve been more than generous with me, the least I can do is use it to repay you.” He said reaching into his own pocket to pull out the fifty Merlin had left him last night as a tip. He placed the bill on the table, far more than enough to cover their food and leave a good tip for the waitress.

            “Arthur please -”

            “No, Merlin, I’m getting by just fine, I’m not a charity, and I won’t take handouts.” Arthur said with conviction.

            “Very well,” Merlin said.

When the two boys pulled into the school parking lot, oh how people stared. Upon getting off the bike, Merlin slung his somehow ever present black leather jacket over his shoulder, and waited for Arthur to get off so they could grab their backpacks from the compartment under the seat.

            “Do you want people to know? Merlin asked nervously, as the two walked towards the building.

            “Well it looks like it doesn’t matter now. Besides, the guys on the team are fairly understanding.” Arthur said, smiling and slipping his hand into Merlin’s. They smiled at each other, and walked into the school with their heads high. People stared, but they did their best to ignore it as they Merlin followed Arthur to his locker where he traded the math notebook for his English binder.

            “Shit, I knew I was forgetting something.” Arthur muttered as he rummaged around in his locker.           

            “What is it?” Merlin asked.

            “I forgot to bring a lunch, not that there was really anything to bring…”

            “Well you’ll just have to let me buy you lunch then.” Merlin said, smiling.

            “Merlin, I already told you -”

            “Please, I promise it won’t be anywhere fancy this time, we don’t even have to drive, we’ll just go across the street and get fries, okay?” Merlin pleaded.

            “Fine, but you can’t just buy me things all the time alright?” Arthur said, annoyed.

            “Alright,” Merlin agreed. Just then, the bell for first period rang. Merlin leaned forward and pecked Arthur on the cheek before turning and rushing off to his university level biology class.

            The first two periods of the day went by slowly, both boys keeping their minds as busy with their schoolwork as possible to distract themselves from the urge to see each other. Merlin scribbled down notes in biology and chemistry, and Arthur sat in English class, impatiently reading the Great Gatsby, and then answered as many questions as he could in math class so he would have as little homework as possible over the weekend. Finally after what seemed like forever, the lunch bell rang and Arthur was stuffing his bag in his locker when Merlin popped up beside him, smiling the biggest dorkiest smile Arthur had ever seen.  

            “Hey,” he said. Arthur turned to him and said,

            “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you smile at school before. Not that I paid enough attention to notice of course.”

            “Oh, of course not, and until now there wasn’t really much worth smiling about. It was just; come, work, definitely not sneak glances at you during lunch, and work some more then go home. Come on I’m starving.” He said impatiently.

            “Really?” Arthur asked “We only had breakfast three hours ago!” Arthur said, slamming his locker shut with a bang.

            “Fast metabolism,” Merlin explained, taking his hand and leading him down the crowded hall and out the door.

            The two walked across the street to a small family owned burger joint and Merlin ordered fries for them to share. Luckily, they got there early enough that it wasn’t too hard to find a seat, and to their relief, nobody was really staring, despite that fact that they had walked in holding hands and Merlin was leaning into Arthur as they waited in line.

            “Are you working tonight?” Merlin asked.

            “Yep, and tomorrow night and I need to go grocery shopping this afternoon. Thank God I don’t have practice today.” Arthur sighed and stared off; Merlin could tell he was mentally listing off a million things he had to get done.

            “I’ll come with you. Um, if you’d like that is.” Merlin offered. Arthur snapped out of his daze and smiled at Merlin.

            “I’d love some company. Do you feel like a drink or twelve again tonight?” he asked sarcastically.

            “Oh shut it. I think I do, which means you’ll have to drive again.”

            “And I assume you’ll just crash with me then?”

            “Of course, if you don’t mind.”

            “Not at all, but don’t your parents wonder where you are?” Arthur asked curiously.

            “Not really, it’s mostly just me and mum, dad’s always travelling somewhere making bucket loads of money, and probably having affairs left right and centre. When I actually decide to leave the house and do something mum practically pushes me out the door, and she doesn’t bother me until I come home, she knows I can take care of myself. Usually I spend my Friday nights watching Netflix with her, she’ll be glad I’ve found someone I actually enjoy spending time with.” Merlin explained.

            Arthur just stared at the boy. At first glance, everything about him was dark, from the messy raven hair falling into his blue eyes, to the almost always black clothing, the dark aviators he usually wore and shiny black bike, but once you knew him, there was nothing dark about him, pure light shone out of every pore. As soon as his mother was mentioned he started smiling and didn’t stop; Arthur couldn’t help but think she must be a wonderful woman, and was extraordinarily lucky to have a son like Merlin.

            “Would you like to meet her?” he asked suddenly.

            “I – uh – I’d love to.” Arthur stammered.

            “Great,” Merlin said, grinning ear to ear. “We’ll stop at my house after school and then the grocery store.”

            “Sounds great,” Arthur said, beaming.

                                                                 *   *   *   *   *

            Arthurs jaw nearly dropped when Merlin hopped off the motorcycle to open the wrought iron gate sealing off the driveway to a massive Victorian style mansion. If it hadn’t been so well kept, Arthur thought it might fit perfectly into a horror movie. The place was impeccable, with a fountain on the lawn in front, a wrap-around porch with a swinging seat and a garden that, come summer, would surely be the envy of the entire city.

“Well, this is home.” Merlin said, gesturing to the enormous house.

            “Wow…” Arthur breathed as he followed Merlin up the steps of the porch and through the front door.

            “Muuuummmm!” Merlin called as he took his shoes off and wandered into the house.

            “In here sweetie!” came the reply from somewhere down the long hallway. Merlin took Arthurs hand and lead him into the kitchen where his mother was baking something; brownies from the smell.

            “There’s someone here I want you to meet.” Merlin announced, stepping further into the spacious kitchen. The dark haired woman wiped her hands on a towel and turned around with a smile on her face, just like the dorky smile Arthur loved so much on Merlin.

            “Mum, this is Arthur, Arthur, my mum Hunith.”

            “Oh, it’s lovely to meet you!” the woman said, pulling Arthur in for a hug. “I take it you won’t be home much this weekend then?” she asked looking at Merlin.

            “That’s right, I promised to keep Arthur company while he goes grocery shopping and does his homework, it’s going to be a grand adventure.”

            “As long as you’re home for Sunday dinner, you know the rules, and of course Arthur is more than welcome to join us, it would be wonderful to have some company.” She said smiling.

            “I’d love to.” Arthur replied, feeling genuinely welcome, and already liking the woman more and more every second; he could see exactly where Merlin got all his best traits from.

            “I’m just going to run upstairs and grab some clothes and stuff, I’ll be right back.” Merlin said, planting a soft kiss on Arthur’s cheek before running upstairs with his backpack slung over one shoulder. Just as he left, the timer on the oven dinged.

            “Would you like some brownies Arthur?” Hunith asked.

            “Yes please, I’m starving.” He replied.

            “Have a seat then.” She said, gesturing to the kitchen table. Arthur did so and Hunith put a plate of brownies in the middle of the table and sat across from him.

            “If you don’t mind my asking, why was Merlin saying he’s going to keep you company this weekend? Are your parents away?” the woman asked, genuinely curious.

            “Actually I’ve been living on my own for just over a year. My father and sister died two years ago, and shortly after that, my mother ran off and I haven’t heard from her since. It’ll be nice to have someone around to keep me company, even if it is just for a weekend.” Arthur said, trying to be as casual as possible so as not to elicit the whole “oh how terrible” spiel.

            “I’m so sorry.” She said. “I want you to know, our door is always open to anyone who needs it.” 

            “Thank you, I appreciate it.” Arthur said, already on his third brownie. It was then that Merlin came back into the kitchen and scooped up a brownie, eating the whole thing in one bite.

            “Right then, are you ready to go battle an old lady for the last bag of milk and brave the perilous check-out lines?”  he asked sarcastically.

            “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Arthur said, standing.

            “Hang on, take these, I’ve got another batch in the oven.” Hunith said, dumping the rest of the plate of brownies into a zip-lock bag and handing them to Arthur.

            “Thank you, again.” Arthur said, taking the bag and then letting Merlin lead him out of the kitchen and to the front door.

            “Don’t forget, Sunday dinner, five o’clock.” Merlin’s mother reminded them.

            “Yes, yes, we’ll be here I promise.”

            “Alright, go on then, have fun battling your way through the grocery store.” She told them, laughing.

                                                     *   *  *   *   *

            “Okay, what do we need first?” Merlin asked, grabbing a shopping cart. Arthur pulled a crumpled grocery list out of his pocket.

            “Definitely milk, bread, margarine, eggs, bologna, that’s good to start with I think. I’ll get the milk, eggs, and margarine, you get bread and bologna. One, two, three, go!” Arthur pushed the cart in one direction while Merlin ran the opposite way. Not less than two minutes later, the boys joined up again, Merlin dumping a loaf of bread and a package of bologna into the cart.

            “What next?” Merlin asked,

            “I’m not sure, let’s just look around and see what’s on sale.”

So they did, wandering around the grocery store for quite some time, grabbing things off the shelves like mac n cheese, spaghetti noodles, pasta sauce, chicken, hamburgers, instant ramen, apples, carrots, and bacon. After a while, Merlin grabbed a basket and started piling it full with junk food.

“What are you getting all that for?” Arthur asked.

            “I get snacky after a few drinks, and you haven’t got any good snacky food so I’m getting my own.” Merlin explained, grabbing a two litre of Coca-Cola off the shelf.

            “Merlin, how exactly is all this going to fit in the little storage compartment of your motorcycle?” Arthur asked, looking concernedly at all the groceries.

            “Oh don’t worry it’ll fit.” Merlin assured him as they each made their way to the two self-check-out lines side by side. After they paid for everything, they walked out to the motorcycle and Merlin opened up the compartment. Arthur looked skeptical to say the least.

            “Don’t look at me like that, just, hand me the bags and I’ll make them fit, trust me.”

            “Alright…” and Arthur hesitantly passed Merlin the first of six grocery bags. He heard Merlin mutter something as he was setting the first one in.

            “Pardon,” Arthur said.

            “What?”

            “I just heard you say something.”

            “I didn’t say anything; I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Merlin insisted as he continued to pile grocery bags on top of each other. Arthur was shocked to say the least when a minute later, Merlin slammed the seat down, having somehow fit everything into the tiny compartment.

            “Well come on let’s go.” He said, as if he hadn’t just managed to cram six grocery bags and two full backpacks into a space that should barely be able to fit two or three binders and a lunch bag. Arthur just shook his head and climbed onto the back of the bike, wrapping his arms around Merlin and leaning into him as they took off out of the parking lot. 


	3. Coke, Whiskey and Fall Out Boy

“Pass me the noodles will you?” Arthur said when the water in the pot started to boil. Merlin ruffled around in one of the grocery bags before handing Arthur a box of spaghetti noodles and then went back to sitting on the counter beside the stove eating a bag of Doritos.

            “Your mum seems very nice.” Arthur said, stirring the noodles into the boiling water.

            “She’s great isn’t she?” Merlin said through a mouthful of Doritos.

            “Stop eating those, you’re going to ruin your dinner!” Arthur said, snatching the bag out of the other boy’s hands.

            “But I’m hungry!” Merlin protested.

            “It’ll be ready in five minutes. Could you get bowls and forks out? They’re in that cupboard there and the drawer beside you.” Merlin slid off the counter and did what Arthur asked, then pulled the muscular, blonde boy into a hug. Arthur smiled and wrapped his arms around Merlin who was resting his head on Arthurs shoulder. The football player put a hand on Merlin’s chin and brought his face up until their lips met; Merlin leaned into the kiss, but they were interrupted when the pot with the pasta in it boiled over and Arthur jumped and saved it before too much water spilled out.

            “I think it’s ready,” he laughed, moving to the sink to strain the water out of the pot. “Why don’t you go sit down and put a CD on,” Arthur suggested. Merlin nodded and wandered over to inspect the collection of CD’s that sat in a basket on the floor next to a slightly out-dated CD player. Much to Merlin’s surprise, Arthur’s CD collection was actually half decent, he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t the Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance he found, among other things. He popped in the latest Fall Out Boy album and pressed play just as Arthur brought two bowls of spaghetti over and handed one to Merlin.

            “I never would have thought you’d have such good taste in music.” The dark haired boy commented.

            “Merlin, I’m a jock, not a deaf idiot, now eat you’re spaghetti, I have to be at work soon.” So they two boys ate their spaghetti and listened to Fall Out Boy. Merlin finished first and rested his head on Arthur’s shoulder, who in turn rested his cheek on the top of Merlin’s head, embracing the somehow painfully familiar touch.

            “You know, it really feels like I’ve known you my entire forever, like maybe we were together in a past life or something.” Arthur said.

            “Oh, I’d bet everything I have on it; we’re like two sides on the same coin.” Merlin said, smiling shyly and stealing a kiss. Arthur pulled away slightly and looked at Merlin skeptically.

            “Do you know something I don’t? It seems like you’re hiding something, whatever it is, you can tell me.” he said.

            “There’s nothing.” Merlin assured him. “Don’t you have to get ready for work?”

            “You don’t have to hide anything from me.” Arthur assured Merlin as he stood up and changed, again, into a black V-neck with the clubs logo on it, and tight dark blue jeans.

            “I know,” Merlin said, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

            Arthur tidied up the kitchen and put the dishes in the sink before leading Merlin to the door to put their shoes on.  They stood and locked eyes for a moment before Merlin pinned Arthur against the door and roughly pressed their lips together.

*   *   *   *   *

            Merlin followed Arthur into the club a few minutes before six and took a seat at the bar again; a glass of coke and whiskey appeared in front of him before he even had time to ask for it. Arthur shot him a smile as he started pouring a drink for the girl that had shown up beside Merlin and Merlin held the glass up, as if to say “cheers” before taking a sip. The place was fairly crowded tonight, and Arthur hardly had anytime to pause and talk to Merlin.

            “Aren’t there usually two bartenders on weekends?’ Merlin asked.

            “Usually, yes, but they let me work on my own because I need the tips.” Arthur explained quickly before turning his attention back to the other customers.

            The night went by slowly; a few girls approached Merlin and attempted to peak his interest, but gave up quickly when he gave little response because he was too busy watching Arthur, who had cut him off after only a few drinks, saying,

            “There’s more where that came from at home,” with a wink.

            Time seemed to drag on for Merlin until finally, around one, the place started to clear out and Arthur started to clean up. Merlin tossed him the keys to assure him he wasn’t going far before wandering outside to wait by the bike while Arthur finished helping close.

*   *   *   *   *

            “I don’t know how you’re not completely exhausted.” Merlin said when they got back to Arthurs place.

            “I’m used to it, and I can never sleep anyways.” Arthur said, going to the cupboard to pull out a bottle of Jack Daniels that Merlin hadn’t noticed before.

            “Is that why you cut me off?” Merlin asked.

            “Well, it would be no fun if you were hammered before I even got to have a drink would it.” Arthur replied, taking out two cups and using Merlin’s bottle of coke to pour two glasses of coke and whiskey.  

            “I guess that’s true. How come you’ve got a bunch of booze lying around anyway?” Merlin asked.

            “The guys at the club are under the impression that I actually have friends and go to parties so sometimes they slip bottles of booze into my bag while I’m not looking and I don’t have the heart to tell them I never have an occasion to drink so I’ve just been saving it.” Arthur explained, reaching past Merlin to turn on the CD player that still had Infinity on High in it from earlier. They took the first sips of their drinks as the first notes of Thriller drifted through the speakers.

            After the first drink, Arthur’s cheeks were slightly pink, but he wasn’t quite buzzed yet. After the second drink, he was almost buzzed; three drinks had him in a nice state. Suddenly, Merlin stood up off the couch, pulling Arthur up with him, and started to dance to thnks fr th mmrs. Arthur tried to sit back down on the couch, muttering,            

            “Merlin stop that, I don’t dance.”     

            “Oh come on, don’t be a party pooper, after a few drinks everybody’s a dancer!” Merlin said, picking up the bottle of whiskey from the floor in front of them and handing it to Arthur with a sly smile. Arthur grabbed the bottle, a smile on his lips, and took two big swigs before recapping it and tossing it gently onto the sofa.

            “Well, let’s dance then!” He said, laughing. Merlin smiled back at him and the two boys swung their arms and wiggled their hips like a right couple of idiots, having a two person dance party, with not a damn care in the world. After about half an hour, a few more swigs of whiskey, and a CD change (to Folie a Deux,) Merlin pulled Arthur in close and wrapped his arms around the boy’s neck, nudging him into putting his strong hands on Merlin’s waist. They stood there, swaying on the spot, exactly like a couple of eighth graders at their first dance, grinning drunkenly at each other and barely able to stay standing. After almost too short a time, Arthur was draining the whiskey bottle of the last sip. Merlin had just told a joke that for some reason, Arthur found hilarious, and he ended up falling on his ass because he was laughing too hard.

            Merlin gently took the empty bottle from his hand and placed it on the floor next to the couch, being only slightly less hammered than Arthur, and then pushed the blonde boy down onto the couch and pinning him there. Arthur didn’t even try to put up a fight, he just lay there, looking up at Merlin, staring particularly at his gorgeous hair, and waiting for the boy to press their lips together.

            “Merlin,” he muttered, leaning up to bring their faces closer.

            “We should pull the bed out.” Merlin said, getting up. Arthur groaned, but took the hand Merlin offered to help him off the couch. It took both of them a good five minutes just to pull out the futon because they kept stumbling and falling over and giggling at each other. After they finally got it, neither of them bothered with pajamas, they simply slipped their shirts off and crawled under the covers; Arthur put his muscular arm around Merlin, so the scrawny bugger could comfortably rest his head on Arthurs chest.

            “Merlin?”

            “Yes Arthur?”

            “Do you really think we’re destined to be together?” Arthur mumbled.

            “Yes,” Merlin answered swiftly.

            “Why?”

            “Just a feeling I guess.”

            “I know you’re hiding something.”

            “Shhh,” Merlin whispered, leaning into Arthur and pressing their lips together to keep him from asking more questions. Arthur tried to protest but he was both too drunk and too into kissing Merlin to succeed.

            “Shh,” Merlin muttered again, against Arthurs lips. Arthur somehow managed to control himself long enough to gently push Merlin off

“Please, what aren’t you telling me?” Arthur demanded. Merlin stared at the wall, trying to decide what to say.

“Well,” the dark haired boy said hesitantly. “I was talking to my mum while you were working, and, we, uh, we were thinking about asking you to um, come and live with us.” Merlin admitted finally, not lying, because it _was_ one thing that was on his mind.

“What? Are you serious?” Arthur asked in disbelief.

“No, I’m just making it up, I can’t stand you.” Merlin said with a smirk.

“Merlin, seriously?” the football player asked again, propping himself up on his elbow to look at Merlin.

“Well, she doesn’t like that you’re all on your own like this, and neither do I really. I mean, you don’t have to; it’s just something we were talking about…”

“As much as I hate to actually take help, this place _is_ extraordinarily lonely, and the landlord is a dick.”

“Does that mean you will?” Merlin asked, with a more than a hint of hope in his voice.

            “How about we start with dinner, and see how it goes, okay?” Arthur suggested.

            “Okay,” Merlin agreed, leaning close to Arthur again, having trouble keeping his lips off the other boy for so long.

            He started at Arthurs lips, kissing him gently and slowly at first, but it wasn’t long before the kisses became more desperate, sliding his tongue in to explore every inch of Arthurs mouth, and biting at his lower lip. Arthur squirmed and moaned when Merlin moved down and began sucking at his neck, leaving little marks as he continued to work his way down, kissing every inch of skin on Arthurs torso and bringing his hands up to fumble with the button on his jeans. Arthur ran his fingers through Merlin’s hair as the boy teased him, kissing the large bulge through his boxers. It wasn’t until Arthur moaned his name that Merlin gave in and took in as much of Arthur as he could and started sucking, making Arthur’s breathing quicken. Merlin stopped and moved back up to kiss Arthur’s lips.

            “Merlin, please,” he whimpered.

            “Please what?” Merlin asked teasingly.

            “Merlin,” Arthur whined again.

            “Say it. Tell me what you want.” Merlin demanded.

            “Fuck me.” Arthur breathed.

            “That’s it.” Merlin said, giving a satisfied smile.

            Arthur leaned forward and kissed Merlin hungrily, and Merlin reached over to rifle through his bag, pulling out a small bottle of lube.

            “You’re sure?” he whispered in Arthur’s ear, wanting to be certain that the football player wanted this just as much as he did.

            “Just get _on_ with it.” Arthur demanded, eliciting a sly smirk from Merlin, who kissed him and then pushed him over so he was lying on his stomach. He kissed his neck, and his sculpted shoulders, moving his lips down to the small of Arthur’s back and worked out some of the tension built up from constantly being overworked. He loved the way he could make Arthur squirm beneath him with such a simple touch. As gently as he could, and using plenty of lube, Merlin shimmied Arthur’s jeans down, slid in the first finger and leaned forward to whisper in Arthur’s ear.

            “Are you okay?”

            “I’d be a lot better if you’d actually do something.” Arthur admitted, slightly annoyed. Merlin chuckled warmly and nibbled at the other boy’s ear before working in another finger, making Arthur moan again. Finally, when Arthur was practically begging for it, Merlin slid himself in, keeping the rhythm slow and gentle and placing kisses all over Arthur’s sculpted back. Arthur pushed back onto Merlin, making the boy lose every ounce of control he had previously had. He grabbed Arthur’s waist and trust into him, somehow hitting just the right spot every single time, making Arthur go crazy. They both went over the edge at the same time and collapsed on the creaky bed from the intensity of it.

            “Was that okay?” Merlin murmured in Arthur’s ear.

“It was amazing.” Arthur breathed, beaming up at his lover. Drunk from a mix of booze and sex, Merlin snuggled into Arthur who pulled the blanket over the two of them as they fell asleep.

*   *   *   *   *

            Saturday passed much the same as Friday had; Merlin and Arthur woke close to three in the afternoon and passed the time until dinner just lying on the hard floor listening to music and talking, then Merlin drove Arthur to work, there was less booze involved this time as they decided not to make a habit of getting shit faced together every night. On Sunday, Arthur woke up to the smell of bacon and the sound of grease sizzling in a pan. Upon getting up, he found Merlin in the kitchen making breakfast.

            “I didn’t think you’d be one for cooking,” he said.

            “Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I can’t make my own food you clotpole.” Merlin snapped.

            “You mean you don’t have servants to do your every bidding?” Arthur gasped sarcastically.

            “Of course I do, it just so happens that I enjoy cooking, are you hungry or not?”

            “Starving,” Arthur said, taking the plate from Merlin’s hand and grabbing a fork before sitting back down on the bed. The two sat there, scarfing down the bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns in silence.

            “This is delicious; I never thought you’d be such an amazing cook!” Arthur said through a mouthful of eggs.

            “Yeah, well, I take after my mum.” Merlin admitted, a faint blush creeping into his cheeks at being complimented like that by Arthur. He cleared his throat, hoping Arthur hadn’t noticed and asked

            “Do you want to go to my house soon? It _is_ nearly three o’clock already and we could play video games or something if you want.”

            “Sounds good, let’s just shower first,” Arthur said, now it was his turn to blush as memories of last night and why exactly he felt the need to shower flooded his brain.

*   *   *   *   *

“Merlin, come give me a hand setting the table!” Hunith called up the stairs to her son’s bedroom where Merlin had been teaching Arthur how to play Skyrim for the past two hours. Merlin paused the game and wrapped his own hand around Arthur’s to lead him downstairs and into the massive dining room where Hunith was setting three plates on the table.

“Could you go grab the chicken while I fill up a pitcher of water please Merlin” she asked.

            Merlin nodded and rushed into the kitchen to do as his mother asked.

            “Please sit down Arthur, it’ll just be a minute,” she told the boy who was standing awkwardly, wanting to do something to help. He sat down anyways, just as Merlin came back in and set down a dish with chicken in it. Arthur couldn’t tell what was on the chicken, but it was some kind of sauce, and it smelled like it was fit for a king. Arthur’s mouth was watering before all the food was even on the table. After what felt like forever, Merlin and Hunith finally joined him at the table and started dishing out the food, Arthur first because he was their guest. The only thing Arthur really knew about the meal was that it had to be the most incredible thing he had ever tasted. He asked Hunith what it was and she answered with a glowing smile,

            “It’s chicken with pesto sauce and parmesan cheese.”

            “It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” Arthur told her, taking another bite.

            “I like this one,” she said to Merlin. “He can definitely stay.”

            “Can you pass me the water mum?” Merlin asked, gesturing to the glass pitcher beside his mother.

            She picked the jug up, but her hand held it at a strange angle and before she lifted it very far off the table it began to slip. Arthur braced himself, knowing it was going to fall and spill everywhere, but instead of the water jug crashing to the table; it seemed to slow down, until it was just suspended there. Arthur glanced at Merlin to see if he was imagining things, and saw the dark haired boy’s eyes glowing yellow as he stared at the jug.

            Hunith quickly righted the jug and looked around nervously.

            “Merlin… what?” Arthur was utterly bewildered.

            “What the hell was that?” he demanded. Merlin hesitated, unsure what to say; instead, he took Arthur’s hands and cupped them together. His eyes glowed yellow for a fraction of a second and when he gently separated Arthur’s hands, a small, electric blue butterfly flew out and across the room.

            “I uh, I have magic.” Merlin admitted, looking at the floor, expecting Arthur to yell at him, be in disbelief, say he was crazy; anything other than what he actually said, which was,

            “Why didn’t you tell me?” Merlin looked up, confused; he thought Arthur would be furious or scared.

            “I-I didn’t think you’d believe me…” the scrawny wizard admitted.

            “I said, you didn’t have to hide anything from me, and I meant it, and I’d be a complete dollophead if I didn’t believe it now.” Arthur said, pulling Merlin in for a hug before turning back to his dinner.

            “Well I think it’s settled then, Arthur, we’d love to have you live with us, if you’d like to that is.” Hunith said, breaking the silence that had formed.

            “I’d love to.” Arthur smiled.


End file.
